Dear Editor,

I have mobility issues. I wear braces on both legs and use a walking cane.

I have a doctor’s statement attesting to my disability and have both a disability placard for my car windshield and a handicapped parking car tag. Parking in a handicapped parking spot is very important and necessary for me.

My pet peeve is people parking in handicapped parking spots that are not disabled, have no placard or disabled car tag. Sometimes they use a placard that is not theirs, that perhaps belonged to a relative that has since passed.

This happens all the time, and I think the trend is even increasing. You see it at Walmart, Kroger and the YMCA. There are disabled folks who need those parking spots, but they are denied because of the selfishness of law violators.

This needs to stop, and there is something you can do about it. Call the police and report the violation. The police department tells me they will send a patrol officer who will issue a citation assuming the parking spot is properly marked (i.e., blue paint, handicapped sign, etc.). Just call 911, as that is the police dispatcher.

I am told the citation is in the hundreds of dollars. I am convinced as word gets around about these citations that the violations will diminish. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Harry McMillin
Colonel, USAF Retired
Vicksburg, Miss.